Advent Reading Day 7

advent reading day 7
scripture reading: the girl no one wanted: the story of jacob, rachel and leah, from genesis 29-30*
symbol: stalks of grain, representing the years of work jacob did in order to marry rachel

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

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it's very important to us to teach our boys that it truly is better to give than to receive. this time of year gives a great opportunity to do just that, but sometimes they are just not convinced! when i saw this article in a magazine last month, i thought it would be quite appropriate for our family too.

this mom writes that she noticed her kids were becoming less and less grateful for the gifts they were given. christmas morning turned into a race to open present after present with no acknowledgement of what had been given. i see this too in my own boys at times, and it makes me crazy. i want them to really appreciate what the Lord provides and not just expect it as if they are owed that big lego set or whatever it is that they just have to have!

so this is what she did. she gathered her two kids together and said they were going to play a game called the "present game." she gave one child an empty gift bag and instructed them to go around the house and find one item to put in the bag. then the other child would open "the present" and pay the giver a compliment related to the gift.

so for instance, let's say you open the bag and there's a toothbrush. then the child could say something like, "oh, thank you for this toothbrush. it will be very useful every day." or if it's a pair of blue underwear, one might say, "thank you for the blue underwear. it's my favorite color!"

this mom wrote that her children really loved playing the game and insisted on playing it throughout the year. i thought it was ingenius and plan to employ it before christmas day!

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and just when you think a mundane monday grocery shopping trip is mundane....leave it to noodle to make it fun! he thinks it is so funny to get buried under the food.


monday blessings to you!